


After the Bombs

by Aesoleucian



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-16
Updated: 2013-05-16
Packaged: 2017-12-12 00:27:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/804992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aesoleucian/pseuds/Aesoleucian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A transcript of Jade's video diary post-apocalypse, including a mysterious shadowy monster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the Bombs

[Clip begins after several minutes of video containing irrelevant information. Video is of a young girl with dark skin, large round glasses, and green eyes.]

23:06:10:09: There’s someone, uh, something down in level three. I’m so, so glad I installed those motion sensors, but now I’m kind of afraid to leave the monitor room. [turns head to look offscreen, stops recording]

24:06:21:23: No motion on any of the screens today. I checked. None of them even turned on. I found out they did eight days ago though, and nothing showed up on them. Why don’t I check more often? [frowns, removes glasses, rubs eyes, and replaces glasses; sticks out tongue at the camera] Why did I have to be the last person left? [frowns again, sighs, stops recording]

30:06:13:47: [breathing heavily, frightened expression on face; nervously handling something off-camera] I’m really freaked, really freaked out right now. Geez, I’m basically not even coherent anymore. [inhales and exhales shakily] So I went to level two to get a bunch more cans of food since I’m running out up here, and there was this shadow thing in a corner, I thought it was just a dark corner but then it moved! [eyes widen, leans toward camera] I think it had EYES. Like flashy white eyes. But when I checked on the recording it didn’t look like it was moving. It must have triggered the motion sensors but it doesn’t move! [twists hands into hair, grimaces] I’m going to go draw pictures of puppies to calm down. [exaggerated frown; pulls tablet from a drawer, stops recording]

01:07:22:13: [head leaned on crossed arms, miserable expression] I miss Grandpa so much. You know, I had to kill him myself. [becomes visibly distressed] I had to take his rifle from him and BANG. [begins to cry] He didn’t ev-even look like my Grandpa anymore, he looked like, like, like a horrible thing without any skin or anything. I don’t think he even had a face, I think it got burned off. I had to shoot him! [speech becomes incoherent, cries for 2:36 more on camera before abruptly getting up and leaving. Recording stops automatically after ten minutes of no motion]

08:07:09:56: [smiling] Okay, it’s going to be okay. Since you’re my journal I guess I’d better say that I was really depressed for a while after my last, um, entry. [frowns, looks off-camera, twists hair in fingers] But exercise is a good cure for being sad! [smiles] When you’re all full of good endorphins it’s hard to feel sad about… Well, I said I wouldn’t think about that any more. Instead I can report that the cameras haven’t activated for a whole week now! I kind of hope I was just hallucinating all that stuff. [pause] Although actually that might be a worse sign. Anyway, peace out! I’m officially out of food so I HAVE to go bring up more cans. [holds up two fingers of left hand, stops recording]

08:07:14:35: [looks worried] Okay I swear it’s still down there. I heard this weird shuffling noise, or like a whispering noise? It got really cold and I just high-tailed it the fuck up here. Like, should I go down there and try to blow a hole in it, or am I just being silly and imagining things? [shrugs, stops recording]

10:07:15:19: [waves at camera] Hey, I did inventory today, and you know I’ve been really careful about checking off what I used so I’d know how long it would last. But there are a bunch of cans missing. [tugs on hair, worried expression] I must have missed something, but I counted twice. Maybe Grandpa miscounted? [stops recording]

16:07:12:59: [stares at the camera for several seconds, looking upset] Um, so, I don’t know if I’m crazy or what now. I think I found the missing food, or at least the cans. I think they were the cans… [pause] Anyway, I went down to find more food, and the creepy thing wasn’t there so I thought I’d do some exploring, and I found this one room with a pile of metal in the corner. [leans in toward camera, gestures with hands] I mean like a melted twisted pile of metal, like someone burned the cans and then dumped them in an empty bunkroom. Or… [widens eyes] not empty? There was also some folded blankets and stuff, and maybe they looked like someone was sleeping on them. [looks away from camera, twists hair in fingers] I mean, someone had been sleeping on them. Yeah. [looks around for a moment, stops recording]

21:07:03:18: [static for 1:53; screen darkens to black, and what appear to be glowing eyes open directly in front of the camera. Eyes blink several times, close, and static returns for 0:20. Monitor room reappears and does not change for 10:00, and the recording stops automatically]

22:07:10:21: Okay, who was messing with my journal? Someone made a video yesterday. And by, um, someone… [looks frightened] I’m going to check it out. [pauses recording]

22:07:10:24: [shows surprise and/or fear] OH MY GOD. There’s this freaky static thing and then the FUCKING BLACK EYE MONSTER OH MY GOD! Oh my GOD it was actually in here? [laughs nervously, runs fingers through hair, gets out of chair; upper body goes out of frame as she paces five times in front of the computer before sitting down again] I’m never leaving the door unlocked again. [stops recording]

25:07:01:48: Okay I’m, I’m really tired right now. I haven’t been sleeping so I could watch out fo’ the eye monster… [sways to the camera’s left, sits suddenly upright] As you can seeeee, it’s not working that well, since all that happens is I get really loopy. [giggles] I wonder if this is what it’s like to be drunk? Anywaaaay. I should go to sleep ‘cause if the eye monster attacks me now I won’t be much good more than if I were, uh, what? [laughs quietly, stops recording]

29:07:17:42: [sits silently in front of the camera for six seconds] I think I found out what the eye monster is. It’s a girl, like me. See, I was down on level three and I saw this corner full of shadow but I didn’t run away, or I couldn’t. Then the glowing white eyes opened and maybe it saw how scared I looked because it got all low to the ground, like Bec when he used to be apologizing for something. [pauses, looks offscreen, begins playing with hair] Um, and it looked up at me, and it looked kind of sad. And it said, in like this whispery creepy a-whole-bunch-of-voices voice, “I apologize for frightening you. I merely wished to be near someone like myself. That is, like I used to be.” It was a very polite eye monster. [smiles] But then it made this choking noise and it sort of slithered away, or she slithered away. I want to ask her her name. [stops recording]

31:07:11:01: [smiling] Her name’s Rose! She said, I think, and I can’t remember exactly, that she got burned really bad too when the bombs started falling and came down here to die. [looks troubled] Wow, that’s really horrible. Um, and she found this thing, and it offered to let her live if she became its servant. She calls it horror terror, which is pretty creepy, and it gives her the power to be a shadow or something. And again she had to leave when she started gurgling, but I figure she’s still kind of sick from radiation poisoning or something. [shrugs, stops recording]

31:07:20:19: I wonder if Rose can play Scrabble. Would she burn up the board like those cans? It’s so boring playing by yourself. [grimaces, then laughs] Sorry, just thinking aloud. [stops recording]

02:08:16:35: [grinning] Rose just crushes me at Scrabble! It’s like she was a dictionary in a former life! I had no clue ‘syzygy’ was a word, or that there were that many Y tiles in Scrabble. [laughs] We’re going to have tea today! I’m so glad there’s someone else down here. I think I was going a little bit crazy all by myself with nothing to do. [stops recording]

02:08:18:11: [holding left arm, head down] I think there’s something wrong with Rose. Why does she keep gurgling? Why… what’s wrong with her? Did I do something wrong? I think I’ll lock the doors again tonight. Not that… [stops recording]

03:08:09:57: [forced smile] She made me a card. It’s really sweet, look. [picks up card from desk to camera’s left, holds it up to camera. “My sincerest apologies for my behavior yesterday. I have no excuse, nor explanation. We probably shouldn’t have tea again. Rose Lalonde”] But what’s really weird is this. [holds up left wrist to show a white ring edged in black, which fades at the outside edges] There was this, like, shadow tentacle thing. Guh. [shudders, stops recording]

07:08:01:00: [screen is dark for 10:00, indecipherable whispering can be faintly heard, recording turns off automatically]

07:08:12:15: I haven’t seen Rose around for a while. I hope she’s okay. I have to go down and get some more food, so, wish me luck! [smiles, stops recording]

07:08:17:29: [static for 0:13, screen clears to show a dark humanoid shape with glowing white eyes] I’m sorry. [screams] I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to! It was an accident! [figure bends down, straightens up holding the unconscious body of Jade Harley] Please wake up and talk to me. [Jade’s eyes open; she looks confused and/or concussed] Jade? [multiple voices] You have a choice before you. [static for 10:00, during which indecipherable noises can be heard; recording stops automatically]

[After this point there is no more video, and all recording equipment in the bunker was found smashed and/or burned. There was no sign of Jade or the ‘eye monster,’ although some areas of floor were coated in an unidentifiable black substance.]


End file.
